Meron Teshome with great 2nd place on stage 11 at Tour of Qinghai Lake (UCI 2.HC)

After Meron has already showed the last two days with 2 times top 10 that he is in a promising shape, the whole team was motivated to step up with great results on today's stage. Knowing about the strength of the fast man from Eritrea, the team wanted to support Meron with no comprimise.

In the final of the stage the team led Meron out in a perfect position to start his sprint and he finished with a great performance only beaten by Jakub Mareczko from Italian Procontinental team Wilier Trestina. Marko Kump from World Tour team Lampre – Merida completed the podium on place 3, who already won 2 stages of this year's Tour of Qinghai Lake.

After taking this great result, Meron Teshome said with a big smile on his face: "today was a perfect day. The whole team comitted yesterday to work very hard to bring me in a good position and the guys did a great job. In the end I had the pressure to finalize the good work and to finish 2nd in such a big race with such great sprinters is just awesome".

Round um den Finanzplatz Eschborn - Frankfurt, one of Germany’s most important and hard one-day races, can be won by either sprinters or early attackers. It creates a beautiful race in which riders have the opportunity to make the difference before the flat finish in the center of the city. The race is 206.8 km and the presence of the Taunus Mountains and their challenging climbs could see the race change at any time and requires to the riders to focus 100 percent of their energy into every moment of the race.

180 riders lined up to complete the circuit which featured 8 categorized climbs with gradients of 20 percent. The race which saw the riders race uphill at insane speeds had only 56 finishers. On the first lap riders were already losing contact with the bunch.

Stradalli – Bike Aid lined up their best riders to compete against Etixx – Quickstep and Team Katusha. The team knows the strength of the World Tour teams from their early season racing in Challenge Mallorca and Ruta del Sol and came fully prepared to attack the race.

Etixx – Quickstep fielded a talented team which included Niki Terpstra, Giani Meersman and 3-time UCI Time Trial World Champion Tony Martin. Terpstra, winner of the 2014 edition of Paris – Roubaix and Meersman did not finish the race. Martin was the last of 56 finishers of the tough, hilly route through Frankfurt.

Alexander Kristoff of Team Katusha would take the final sprint of the day, but he was not the only winner at Eschborn - Frankfurt. John Degenkolb could feel like a winner after almost a three-month injury break. Degenkolb celebrated an impressive comeback even if he did not finish with the best time. Degenkolb rode in the service of his team, Giant-Alpecin. After nearly 160 kilometers he reduced his pace instead of hurting himself over the fourth and final time on the Mammolshain mountain. Degenkolb finished the race in the team bus. Giant – Alpecin teammate, American Caleb Fairly, also pulled out of the race.

The race would finish hard and fast in the Frankfurt city streets and Milan – San Remo winner Alexander Kristoff would take the sprint handily. The Argentinian Maximiliano Richeze from the Belgian Etixx - Quick-Step team and the Irishman Sam Bennett Germany Team Bora – Argon 18 rolled in behind for second and third place.

Stradalli – Bike Aid rider Nico Holler had an incredible ride finishing 22 in the main pack. Holler is a climber by specialty, but still managed to be at the front of the group for a tight fast sprint. Eschborn – Frankfurt is widely considered one of the hardest races in Germany and it is a huge result for Holler and Stradalli – Bike Aid to be at the front attacking and competing with the best teams and Europe.

Stradalli – Bike Aid wins stage 2 of the UCI 2.2 Tour of Eritrea.

The 179 kilometer stage from Tesseney to Agordat featured significant elevation change, but that didn’t deter the peloton from riding hard. Attacks started as soon as the riders left the start line. Stradalli – Bike Aid controlled the race with excellent teamwork throughout the day.

After Amanuel Meron’s podium finish in stage 1, the team knew he could provide a result. Amanuel Meron would be the most protected rider throughout the day due to his high general classification placing. Meron Teshome, however, is the better sprinter.

The two riders worked together to shepherd themselves in a fast final after a tough day of racing. Meron Teshome took the win, proving his sprinting ability at the highest level. Amanuel Meron followed closely behind in 3^rd place giving Stradalli – Bike Aid two riders on the podium of stage 2 of Tour of Eritrea.

The Eritrean riders have special motivation to race well in their home country, but the entire Stradalli – Bike Aid team and their management are working hard to ensure success at the Tour of Eritrea. Many of their riders are native to Eritrea and it is the place where the Stradalli – Bike Aid mission of creating a better future for those who are less fortunate began.

The Stradalli – Bike Aid team is currently using the full carbon Aversa frame because of its ability to perform well under a variety of conditions. The Tour of Eritrea will feature technical roads, fast sprint finishes and high mountains.

The Tour of Eritrea continues tomorrow with Stage 3 from Keren to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. The stage will cover 93k, but it is mountainous. This stage will be the first opportunity for the real climbers of Stradalli – Bike Aid to show their talent.

Stradalli – Bike Aid Racers Getting Ready At STAPS Institute

Stradalli– Bike Aid riders are now in fully focused on preparing for the Tour of Eritrea on beginning April 19^th. Several riders are currently training at the STAPS Institute in Koln, Germany.

The STAPS Institute is world famous for their work with World Tour level professional cyclists. STAPS works closely with top level athletes providing threshold testing, training data analysis and detailed development planning. They have brought several teams incredible amounts of success.

The infamous HTC – Highroad which saw Mark Renshaw and Mark Cavendish form an unbeatable sprint duo behind an even more intimidating sprint train was fueled by the guidance of STAPS between 2008-2011. Team Katusha of Russia and Garmin – Cannondale Pro Cycling have both trained with STAPS in the past and STAPS currently works with several top level triathletes and cyclists for more personalized training.

Tony Martin of Etixx – Quickstep is one of these athletes who have been supervised by STAPS since the beginnings of his professional career. Martin has seen 57 professional wins during his career including 3 UCI Time Trial World Championships.

This high quality facility is now home base for preparation for Meron Teshome and Amanuel Mengis Ghebreindrias for the upcoming Tour of Eritrea. The Tour of Eritrea reaches 2600 meters altitude, an altitude similar to the mountain ranges covered in the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia.

The Tour of Eritrea is tough, but the team is sparing no expense in ensuring the riders are prepared for the worst the Tour of Eritrea has to offer. Amanuel Mengis and Meron Teshome have already shown they have great form for the early season, but winning the Tour of Eritrea will be the next step in the development of these young riders.

Stradalli – Bike Aid races with a focus of developing young African riders, but also giving the people basic needs such as food and water. Education and training for these people is also provided as part of the Stradalli – Bike Aid mission. Eritrea is one of the poorest countries in the world. Very few can fathom what life would be like to live with only $150 USD per year, but this is reality Eritrean men, women and children. Two thirds of Eritrean households lack basic food security.

The idea of an Eritrean man finding success at the highest level of the sport is miraculous, but despite the odds being stacked against them, Eritreans are excelling at the top level of cycling. Daniel Teklehaimanot, Mekseb Debesay and Natnael Berhane of Dimension Data have made their way into the World Tour and are riding at the front of the hardest races. Eritrea is a small country, but they are cycling crazy people with a lot of determination who take nothing for granted.

Now at STAPS Stradalli – Bike Aid is helping Meron Teshome and Amanuel Mengis reach the next level with rigorous training in the state of the art STAPS facilities. Teshome and Mengis have gone from training on the war torn roads of Eritrea to racing the Challenge Mallorca. Now they have made it all the way to the number 1 training facility in Germany. They have talent, but they have the heart for what it takes to be truly successful in the toughest sport in the world.

Many teams are now inquiring about Teshome and Mengis after stellar early season performances in Africa and Mallorca. Both riders had standout performances at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo and Tour du Cameroun. Stradalli – Bike Aid management said to lose them would be tough, but expected.

“When young guys are performing so well and they are so grateful for the opportunity, they are ideal candidates for top level teams. We love helping these guys develop into something special. To see them go is bitter sweet. We love having guys like Meron and Amanuel with us, but these guys are destined for the World tour. We don’t know if they will make the jump to the World tour next year or not, but either way we are happy that our mission to help African riders is succeeding and not just a dream.” Management said.

Meet Stradalli-Bike Aid Pro Racer Patrick Lechner

One of the more versatile of the Stradalli-Bike Aid pro racers is Patrick Lechner who enjoys mountain biking, cyclocross racing as well as road racing. Patrick is one of the more relentless cyclists during the racing, giving it his all. But his teammates love the fact that he will do anything for the betterment of the group rather than look at the individual gains. You can read more about Patrick and the team at the Stradalli Cycle blog.